The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) Shares Acquired by Wellington Management Group LLP

Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 19.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,734,666 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,697,605 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 2.93% of Williams Companies worth $1,631,288,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. raised its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 12,670,175 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $538,482,000 after acquiring an additional 144,713 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Williams Companies by 3.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,648,918 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $410,064,000 after purchasing an additional 311,530 shares during the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its position in shares of Williams Companies by 8.8% during the second quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 7,664,152 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $325,726,000 after purchasing an additional 618,056 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,239,210 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $330,470,000 after purchasing an additional 67,016 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 20.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,117,298 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $259,985,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024,158 shares during the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Williams Companies from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $52.07.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $56.85. 8,371,690 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,562,937. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The firm has a market cap of $69.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.98, a PEG ratio of 5.78 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.74. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.65 and a twelve month high of $60.36.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 15.89%. The firm's revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 80.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total value of $90,580.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 304,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,777,218. The trade was a 0.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mary A. Hausman sold 7,951 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total value of $447,641.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,455,805.40. This trade represents a 23.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Williams Companies Company Profile

The Williams Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy infrastructure company primarily in the United States. It operates through Transmission & Gulf of Mexico, Northeast G&P, West, and Gas & NGL Marketing Services segments. The Transmission & Gulf of Mexico segment comprises natural gas pipelines; Transco, Northwest pipeline, MountainWest, and related natural gas storage facilities; and natural gas gathering and processing, and crude oil production handling and transportation assets in the Gulf Coast region.